The Best of The Gold Coast

1416 N. Astor St.
Now that Irish developer Garrett Kelleher lost the Chicago Spire and reportedly has headed back to Ireland with his brood of six kids, he has to unload the sixbedroom, six-bathroom 1917 Georgian he bought for $8.5 million in April 2006, to which Gensler’s design star, architect Carlos Martinez, gave a conscientious and classy renovation. The property isn’t on the MLS so Kelleher can avoid publicity, but published reports say he was asking $20 million for it (current word on the street is the price has dropped to $16 million or so). Politically connected Baird & Warner broker Janet Murphy is brokering the deal privately and won’t comment.

1500 N. Lake Shore Dr.
The Gold Coast’s most venerated old-line building has always been the 1929 McNally & Quinndesigned co-op at 1500 N. Lake Shore Dr., while architect Lucien Lagrange’s handsome Second French Empire-style confection at 65 E. Goethe St. is clearly this century’s “It” place to live. These two buildings are estimated to be among the five highest-priced apartments on the market right now. At 1500 N. Lake Shore, unit 22A can be had for $4.95 million, down from $6.9 (contact Julie Harron, Prudential Rubloff Properties, 312-264-5880) and Unit 7-8B is up for $4.95 million (contact Marie Campbell, Koenig & Strey, 312-893-1347). At 65 E. Goethe, 8WNE, the three raw units William Wrigley Jr. bought in 2002 and never finished, can be purchased as a package deal for $14 million, or split up (contact Jim Kinney, Baird & Warner, 312-981-2081).

Shopping
Oak Street, undeniably Chicago’s most densely packed block of luxury shopping, has undergone a renaissance since Barneys New York moved into its glam new digs across the street and Hermès did an equally glam job turning Barneys’ old space into a flagship. Other new players on the block include Bonpoint, Sofia, Vince., Moncler and Pomellato.

Schools
The Ogden International School of Chicago at 24 W. Walton St., a great grammar school, is getting a spankingnew building, set to open this fall.

Fast Times
A few lightning-fast deals by star brokers are testaments to the fact that Gold Coast pads haven’t been this affordable since the real estate slump of the late 1990s. Katherine Chez crafted a deal on a 4,100-square-foot condo at 1325 N. Astor St. before it was even listed for sale; it came on the market and closed shortly thereafter. All told, the transaction took between three and a half and four weeks. Brad Lippitz completed the sale of a 5,000-square-foot Potter Palmer row house at 1302 N. Ritchie Ct. for the full asking price of $2,595,000 a mere 52 days after it came on the market last November.

Walton on the Park
Big-ticket broker Kim Jones says this sleek, glassy, 31-story luxury high-rise at 2 W. Delaware Pl., loaded with every beguiling amenity imaginable (like a full-time concierge, club room, state-of-the-art gym and outdoor fireplace) is the best deal going in the Gold Coast, especially if you want a brand-new three-bedroom, three-bath unit. “You can get 2,165 square feet for $1.17 million, which works out to $540 per square foot. That’s hundreds [of dollars per square foot] less” than other nearby properties, notes Jones.